To the editor: Betsey Andrews-Parker, Kathy Baker, Rocky D'Andrea, Amanda Russell, Doris Grady, Paul Butler, Kenneth Appel of the Dover School Board as well as all the teachers and administrators: I just wanted to send a big thank you for the job you have done and keeping our Dover Schools as some of the best in the state. Even working with a minimal budget you still did an outstanding job!

Again, thank you for your service and a job well done.

Marc W. Jennings

State Rep. Candidate

District 20, Dover

Fear-mongering

To the editor: I watched the Dover City Council & School Board joint meeting to review last fiscal year 'left over' school budget money. The question raised by some councilors was why school administration and school board chairman, during brutal budget negotiations, chose not to inform the school board or city council that there might be some funds left over. Instead, it appeared that they kept it a secret, perhaps to provoke distraught parents, students, and teachers, to plead with the council for a tax cap override. Failure to disclose this information was a very poor decision.

Unfortunately, this fear mongering happens every year. Cuts are threatened to services and programs in an attempt to rally the troops, exerting enough pressure on the city council to spend more than taxpayers can afford. Social media, editorials, letters to the editor and emails were used by those lobbying for tax cap override. When these same tools were used in this situation, "foul" was called.

Calling it "unencumbered appropriations" instead of "surplus" doesn't change the fact that it was money left over at the end of the year. Saying that it has not been disclosed in past years doesn't make it right either. If the council and public were told, "due to excellent fiscal discipline we might have enough funds left over to buy new curriculum" this would have been more honest. Many who came to the podium and sent emails asking for an override feel misled and used.

School administration and board chair could have taken ownership of this mistake, apologized, and figured out how not to do it again. Instead, they refused to admit that their decision was wrong, offered excuses, overly complex explanations, and attempted to redirect attention to left over city side budget which was never a secret since the city council gets this information monthly.

Moving forward, it is encouraging that school board will see monthly financials but it does not change that the board chair and administration behaved badly. For all who are paying attention, make sure you remember this next budget season!

Ted Anglace

Dover

Think twice

To the editor: In recent letters written regarding the Cocheco Valley Humane Society in Dover, it is important that we remain positive and upbeat about the new CVHS administration and the work they are trying to accomplish. To dredge up what may or may not have happened in the past is not helping the animals' plight. I am also hopeful that building a new shelter will commence sooner rather than later and it is not another year, but as soon as feasibly possible.

Every hurtful remark against CVHS only devastates me more and I believe there are always two sides to every story. I think of the poor homeless animals in cages that will spend another night, another month, another year in the facility because someone writes that CVHS has strict policies or they do this or that incorrectly. I don't understand why anyone would want to do that and the motive for it. Don't you want to help the animals? Instead, letters should be pouring in for compassion and willingness to adopt from and contribute to CVHS. They just had a huge weeklong reduction in adoption fees and all sorts of specials going on. Why didn't you mention that and their desire and goal to place animals in forever homes? I'm sure there are many grateful pet owners who have adopted from CVHS with wonderful outcomes and positive experiences.

Please think twice before writing negatively about CVHS. You are only jeopardizing the animals' chances for adoption. CVHS has my full support and they are doing a great job.

Linda Merullo

Dover

Fighting chance

To the editor: Some believe the President is to blame for the state of our economy. Of course, the President does have some powers, but unless he is backed by Congress his ability to improve economic conditions is limited. Since the mid-term election in 2010, the House has been controlled by Republicans, so don't blame the President!

In the fall of 2008, the U.S. economy was in very serious trouble and banks were failing. Bush signed the bank "bailout" bill in October 2008. Unemployment more than doubled between March 2007 (4.4%) and March 2009 (8.9%). With the economy in free fall, extreme measures were called for.

Soon after his election, Obama assembled a team of legislators and advisers who began crafting the "stimulus" legislation, known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) which was passed in February 2009. Unemployment continued to rise for 8 months after ARRA was passed, reaching a high of 10% in October 2009 before going down. Today many economists believe that the stimulus worked, but wasn't enough. The true seriousness of the financial crisis wasn't appreciated until later. It is estimated that ARRA spending created or saved over 3 million jobs. In addition, over a million jobs were saved by President Obama's courageous actions that saved the American automobile industry.

Still, the recovery has been disappointingly slow. In August 2012, unemployment was slightly above 8%. Decreasing unemployment affords little consolation to those still looking for work. But, don't blame the President! Remember, since 2010, the House has been controlled by Republicans. Many first-term representatives came to Washington with the expressed goal of opposing President Obama. The result has been a gridlock in Washington and no progress.

Every member of the House is up for re-election. If you want to solve what's wrong with the economy, elect others to take their place. The country will recover more quickly if the President has the support of Congress. I strongly urge you to re-elect President Obama and return Carol Shea-Porter to Washington. Let's not go back to the policies that got us into trouble in the first place. Give President Obama a fighting chance to move this country forward.

Janet Campbell

Dover

More gambling

To the editor: Why I am for expanded gambling in New Hampshire. I would support a Foxwoods resort style casino in New Hampshire. I believe this would bring thousands of jobs to our state as well as a needed economic boost for the region. This would create ten's of millions of dollars if not hundreds of millions of dollars in needed tax revenue for our local school departments. We need to support our local schools, teachers, and students by giving them all the tools they need to succeed.

Marc W. Jennings

State Rep. Candidate

District 20, Dover

Stanley for rep.

To the editor: I am running for State Representative for Farmington so our community has effective representation in Concord. Over the past two years Farmington has been neglected by those who were sent to the State House to fight on behalf of the people. A state budget was crafted with party ideology as a priority instead of what was best for the people of Farmington and the rest of the state. Costs were downshifted to local property taxes and the state budget was balanced on the backs of our communities most vulnerable citizens.

If you vote for me on Nov. r 6 I can promise that I will always have Farmington's best interest first. I will support bills that will bring businesses and development to our community like a plan to bring municipal sewer to Route 11 and fully funding our 10 year highway plan so our road and bridges are no longer in despair. My opponents think that it is more important to support bills that take away rights from individuals like our right to marry the person that they love or the right to make our own health care decisions. These are the priorities of my Republican opponents. My priorities are to do what is best for the people of Farmington and the rest of the state. And just to clarify any confusion from my last letter I believe that health care is a right that everyone is entitled to and is not limited to just those who can pay.

Please vote for Rachel Burke and I on Election Day. Thanks for your support.

Richard W. Stanley

State Rep. Candidate

Strafford 2, Farmington

The facts

To the editor: The recent letter from Mr. Allard which you titled Scary! is scary. I truly do not want to sound condescending but I want anyone that took his claims about our president as factual to please go to FactCheck.org on the Internet. FactCheck.org is a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center. They are a nonpartisan, nonprofit group. They are not " Main Stream Media" and they debunk rumors and falsehoods on both Obama and Romney. They are also not skewed left or right. People that want a reason to choose one candidate over another will find that reason but hopefully it will be because they read and understood the facts and appreciate what the outcome will be.

Pam Davies

Nottingham

About attack

To the editor: Last Tuesday Our Embassies in Egypt and Libya were attacked. In Egypt they were protesting for the United States to release the Blind Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman. He was tried and convicted of trying to blow up the World Trade center in New York City February of 1993. (Egyptian officials are trying to talk Obama into releasing him).

At the same time in Libya our Consulate was being attacked by heavily armed terrorists. Our Ambassador and the other Americans were brutally murdered.

After this news was reported Barack Obama was planning and then went to Las Vegas to raise money for his re election. Obama and his administration, blamed this attack on a movie very few knew about. The movie was about the Muslim Prophet Mohammad. Now Obama is admitting this was a well planned terrorist attack on our Ambassador. Why did it take a week for our Government to admit the truth? Is their polling telling them Americans know the truth, so now the catch up game is being played?

Why is it when ever the Muslims are insulted, they go about burning things and killing people in the name of Allah? In Muslim Countries Christians and Jews are tortured, maimed, and killed on a daily basis. Where is the outrage? If the Muslims are so offended about their Prophet being insulted, why don't they go to court and sue for slander? Obama keeps apologizing and making the situation worse.

Christians, Jews, Muslims all have the same beginning. We all are the children of Abraham. Instead of hating on another lets be respectful of one another.

Paul Horvath

Somersworth

Fire warning

To the editor: Small steps can make positive changes. As the time change approaches this fall, let's work together to remind our residents to change the batteries in their smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors. Tragically, home fires kill 500 children ages 14 and under each year.

In the U.S., almost two-thirds of home fire deaths resulted from fires in homes without working smoke alarms. Forty percent of the fatal fire injuries occurred in homes with no smoke alarms at all, while 23% occurred in homes in which at least one smoke alarm was present but failed to operate. We have seen examples in our Somersworth community and surrounding towns.

Somersworth Fire is participating in a national home fire safety campaign called Change Your Clock Change Your Battery®. Sponsored by Energizer, our fire department, and the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the program urges Americans to adopt a life-saving habit: changing smoke alarm batteries when clocks are changed back from daylight-saving time each fall. This year's time change occurs on Sunday, Nov. 4.

Now celebrating its 24 year, the Change Your Clock Change Your Battery program focuses on home fire safety education. We are aggressively promoting the life-saving Change Your Clock Change Your Battery message in our community and have planned many activities. For example, the Somersworth fire department will again be conducting our annual Fire Prevention program during the month of October for the day cares and schools at our Fire house so please call and schedule your time. Also Saturday Oct. 13 is our open house,

We also want to take this time to remind citizens to change the batteries in their carbon monoxide detectors. We need to remind community residents of the importance of installing new batteries in their smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors to ensure they are working in case of a fire and to prevent accidental carbon monoxide poisoning.

Cheryl Howard

Somersworth Fire Department

A dilemma

To the editor: In July of this year candidate Romney said to ABC News, regarding taxes, "I don't pay more than are legally due and frankly, if I had paid more than are legally due I don't think I'd be qualified to become president." Well, none of us like to pay more than is legally due, so yes, Mitt most of us agreed with you.

Mr. Romney has also solemnly vowed to the American people, in response to charges that he pays a very small percentage of tax on his multimillion dollar income, that he never pays less than a 13% tax rate. So when his accountant told him that his tax rate for 2011 would be 10.5 %, not 13%, Romney told him to ignore some of the deductions he is qualified to take and pay more than is legally required. That brought his rate up to 14.1%. He apparently forgot his claim that "if I had paid more than are legally due I don't think I'd be qualified to become president". It would have been more intellectually honest for him to have his accountant do a straightforward return, and say to us, the electorate, "I made a mistake, in 2011 I only paid 10.5%". But he never admits a mistake, even when he characterizes half of Americans (the working poor, disabled veterans, students with loans, the elderly, etc.) as moochers.

That he would have paid a lower rate than he vowed, or that he paid more taxes than he was required to, doesn't really disqualify him from becoming President. He disqualifies himself by being intellectually dishonest. Note that in the future Mitt can file for a tax refund based on those deductions he didn't use now.

Tom Slater

Portsmouth

Voter guides

To the editor: Now that both the Republican and Democratic Party conventions are over, I am hopeful that American voters will have a good sense of where the presidential candidates stand on the issues they care about. It can be difficult to wade through the enormous amount of information and the advertisements coming our way every day. Cutting through the political campaign clutter can be quite a challenge.

With this in mind, the annual AARP Voters' Guides can help. Our strict nonpartisan status enables us to offer specific information about congressional and presidential candidates' positions on issues of concern to older voters. This year, our Voters' Guides focus on Social Security, Medicare and financial security. With more than one-third of Mainers 65+ relying on their Social Security benefit for their entire income, we know this is a critical issue. With almost 270,000 Medicare beneficiaries in our state, we understand that voters will want to know what the candidates plan to do to strengthen this vital program. With almost seven percent of older Mainers going hungry every day, it's time to find out how the candidates plan to address financial security problems.

If you would like to find out where the candidates stand, go to earnedasay.org and take a look at our Voters' Guides. The candidates' responses are culled from publicly available information and excerpts from their own campaign sources.

Please also join us on Election Day, when we all have the opportunity to make our voices heard on these critical issues.

John Hennessy

AARP Maine Advocacy Director

Portland

Need Voter ID

To the editor: I wish to thank Senator Jeb Bradley, a co-sponsor of the recently enacted Voter ID law, and all the House members from Carroll County who voted for this important legislation. The US Department of Justice recently approved the constitutionality of this law dispelling any myths about Voter ID. Secretary of State Bill Gardner has been conducting training sessions for local officials to make sure its implementation is smooth.

Voters will find compliance with this law to be easy and trouble free. Each voter should bring a government issued ID, such as a driver's license or passport, to his or her polling place. Anyone who forgets the ID, or in the unlikely event does not have one, can sign an affidavit and still vote. Provisions in the law allow voters to get an ID for voting purposes and without charge, if they file for a waiver of the fee.

New Hampshire voters witnessed in our recent Presidential Primary how someone could vote fraudulently. We all need IDs for everyday activities such as cashing checks, obtaining prescriptions, using credit cards, purchasing alcohol and tobacco products or even attending the recent political conventions.

Using an ID to vote keeps our elections honest, transparent and respectful of the votes each of us will cast. Kudos to Jeb and other legislators for recognizing the public wants clean elections and writing the Voter ID law so as to be user friendly, while maintaining our right to vote and freely choose our leaders.